d-Rx

Well, it’s almost upon us, the first The Verve studio album in over 10 years is finally coming out next week. Good times! I’ve been waiting for this moment since they disbanded in ‘98. I can say that I have listened to this band nearly everyday since I first heard “Sun, The Sea” on a tape my friend Zelkie had on our way back to Lawrence, KS from a winter vacation spent in Chicago in early ‘93. I’ve heard a “Love is Noise”, “Sit and Wonder” a few times live, and then “Rather Be” in that BBC1 private show they did a couple weeks back, wow is that video an ass-kicker. They took it down for people in the States.

They appear to be at the top of their game at the moment, and I have a good feeling that this album is going to be their best effort since A Northern Soul came out in ‘95. I always try to tell people that McCabe was a afterthought on a majority of Urban Hymns, he was brought in at the end to make that album sound like The Verve, cause without Nick, it just wasn’t The Verve, Richard realized this when he had a majority of the album in the can, and sucked it up and made-up with McCabe and agreed to have him come into the studio and return to the band. As a result, Nick added the thunderous “The Rolling People”, a live take for the best pump me up in the car on the way to something song ever – “Come On”, and the beautiful “Catching the Butterfly”. These songs essentially keep the album atmoshperic and visceral, and make the album just like old times. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hymns bigtime, great album,but McCabe is gonna put his one of a kind wall of sound stamp on this record far more than he was able to on the last LP.

And we will all be the better for it!